Latest Articles about Ukraine
Ukraine on the Brink: Donbas Conflict Escalates
Following the outright collapse of the notional ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations and drifted further from pursuing a possible political solution. Neither side shows any meaningful commitment to the Minsk agreement reached in September 2014, while the local conflict zone... MORE
Lavrov Unilaterally Reinterprets the Armistice Agreement With Ukraine
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had hoped to see the Minsk armistice process rehabilitated at the “Normandy Group’s” January 21 meeting in Berlin (see EDM, January 22, 23). Prefacing that meeting of the German, French, Russian and Ukrainian ministers of foreign affairs, Merkel declared: “The Minsk... MORE
Amid Mounting Domestic Troubles, Putin Tries to Regain the Initiative in Eastern Ukraine
The sharp escalation of hostilities in eastern Ukraine last week (January 22) has disheartened many in Europe who had hoped for a gradual resolution of the Ukraine conflict. On the other hand, it has been a welcome return to the path of victory for many... MORE
Russia Seeks Political Influence on Ukraine Via the ‘Normandy’ Group
Foreign affairs ministers Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Sergei Lavrov of Russia, Pavlo Klimkin of Ukraine, and Laurent Fabius of France—representing the so-called “Normandy” group of countries—met in Berlin on January 21. Germany convened the meeting amid an upsurge in Russian-led attacks on Ukrainian positions along... MORE
Russia Gives EU, Turkey and Azerbaijan an Ultimatum on ‘Turk Stream’
On January 14, 2015, Aleksei Miller, the CEO of Russia’s state-owned natural gas giant Gazprom, sent a letter of warning to European Commission Vice President for the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic. In his letter, Miller wrote that Russia intends to stop all shipments of gas... MORE
Russia Pressures Ukraine to Change Minsk Armistice Terms
Russian regular and proxy forces have attacked Ukrainian positions at selected points along the entire length of the demarcation line in recent days. This operation threatens to shift the demarcation line and the whole existing basis of the September 2014 Minsk armistice. Russia has blocked... MORE
Ukrainian Military Is Pushed Back in Heavy Fighting
The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France met this week in Berlin in the so-called “Normandy format” to seek ways to scale down the recent upsurge in military violence in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas (which encompasses the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces).... MORE
War in Eastern Ukraine Causing Coal Shortages, Electrical Blackouts
The unrest and ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine seriously impacts coal supplies and thermal power electricity generation in the rest of the country. On December 28, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry to halt rolling power blackouts, adding that... MORE
Putin Sets Military Trap for Poroshenko
The collapse of the nominal ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, marked by an escalation of military operations around Donetsk airport, has resulted in a fresh diplomatic confrontation between Moscow and Kyiv. Both sides blame each other for the increased violence, while the Kremlin claims that this... MORE
Analyst Provides Insider View of Russian Government Think Tank
The revelations of Alexander Sytnik, who recently left his position as a senior fellow at the Russian Institute for Strategic Research, a government-funded think tank, provides a rare glimpse into the inner mechanisms of policymaking in Russia. In his personal account of the run-up to... MORE